Bangladesh cabinet committee on public procurement in a meeting approved a proposal of the state-owned Petrobangla in this regard to award the contract to the Russian firm to do the job.
4 more procurement proposals from different ministries also received the nod of the committee in the meeting presided over by finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
The energy and mineral resources division placed the Petrobangla's unsolicited proposal, based on Speedy Supply of Power and Energy Act 2010, to the cabinet Body for approval.
It means, the Russian firm was selected for the project through negotiation and without any competitive bidding process.
Gazprom will take over the drilling works from the Petrobangla’s subsidiary Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (BAPEX) which discovered the Bhola gas field.
Mustafa Kamal said:
- Gazprom was picked up for the project since it is a reputed international firm having vast experience in this field
But many energy experts were critical over the contract value of the works of the Russian firm.
Since 2012, Gazprom EP International has designed and built 17 appraisal, exploration and development wells at 8 fields in Bangladesh.
The total flow rate of these wells has reached 7 billion m3 of gas per year.
